Kohona Chronicles
by r00k41
Summary: The Villages of Leaf and Stone are at the brink of war, and the Stones have unleashed a weapon the likes the world has never seen before.
1. Chapter 1 The Stone's Secret Weapon

-**Chapter 1 "Prelude to a Catastrophe, The Stone's Secret Weapon"**

Two figures stood in the trees. Both facing the other, not saying anything. Naruto looked at him, and the other shinobi looked back. Their clothes were tattered and bloody from fighting. Naruto still had blood running from the corners of his mouth and his ears. His left arm and leg were both numb and useless. He had used too much of the Nine-tail's chakra. Naruto knew he wouldn't last much longer under the stress he was putting on his body.

The other ninja moved. His hands struggling to come together to form hand-seals. He formed a series of ten hand seals, ending with the seal of the Tiger. He was going to use a fire technique.

"Katon! Reiryuu Kibakudan no Jutsu!" he cried. His wrists then came together, palms pointed outward. Naruto could barely make out the formation of two spheres, one inside the other. The inside of ice-blue colored chakra, and the outside, a formation of fire, breathed from the ninja's mouth, then rolled and maintained in a sphere. Whatever this technique was, he was going to make a direct attack.

Naruto held out his right arm and formed blue chakra into a spinning sphere. "Rasengan!"

The shinobi leaped from the branch he stood with a fierce cry. Naruto, leapt as well; both flying together in a inevitable clash...

**5 Days Earlier**

The air in Kohona was tense. Relations between the Fire and Earth countries had broken down. The relative peace that had beheld the lands was now shattered by advances by Hidden Stone shinobis into several of the smaller countries surrounding the Earth Country. Hidden Leaf units had been repositioned towards the outskirts of Fire to watch for further signs of aggression.

Tsunade sat in her office looking out the window, viewing the village of which she ruled. Godaime Hokage, Legendary Sennin and the greatest medical ninja known to date, she was now contemplating her next move. Earth of course had its excuses for its actions. It made claims of ancestral rights of the lands they had invaded. An obvious ploy to prevent interference from other countries, but for the most part, it was working. The Hidden Village of Grass was the biggest casualty. Though Grass was allied with Leaf village, the Stone invasion was so swift and decisive that Leafs never had the chance to come to assistance.

Not much information had been gained from the attacks other than speculation that Tsuchikage himself took part in the Grass's defeat. The little information that did come to her came in the form of a Grass mercenary who escaped the carnage. He told of many Grass jounins being paid handsomely to betray their country. Invasion and conquest then became a relatively easy task.

The other piece of knowledge was more striking though. Although the mercenary stated that he never actually saw the Tsuchikage take part in the conquest, he did notice a sword-wielding shinobi who single-handedly killed several dozens of chuunins and some jounins who had remained loyal to the Grass. This was not so significant as how this shinobi was described to her. The one defining feature of this ninja, was that he had the tail of a lizard. In all her years of knowledge, she had never run across or even heard rumors of such a ninja.

"The tail of a lizard," she spoke to herself. "What in the heavens could this mean?"

* * *

Uzamaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi strode side-by-side through the trees near the outer regions of Fire Country. They continued until they emerged from the forest into a large clearing. Ahead of them was a large encampment of Leaf ninjas, set up to prevent Stone infiltration. The pair entered the camp.

"General, you have arrived." An ANBU captain approached. "The outer perimeter has been set, and patrols are making their rounds."

"Who's leading the patrols?" Kakashi asked.

"Hyuuga Neji headed West with a four man team, and Uchiha Sasuke went East."

"Good. With their eyes, nothing should be able to enter through this sector." Kakashi turned to Naruto. "I'm going to take a look around. Susuke should already have our tent set up, so you can put our stuff in there."

"Sure." Kakashi gave Naruto his pack and headed towards the middle of the camp. Naruto looked ahead of him. Before them, about a kilometer away was a wide river that separated the Fire Country and former Grass Country. He had heard the rumors as well. Powerful shinobi crushing the Grass in a matter of two days. He smiled at these thoughts as he walked over to the gray tent marked with his, Sasuke's, and Kakashi's names. He never fully grew out of wanting to prove his strength.

A pair of arms wrapped around him tight. Naruto looked behind him to see Hyuuga Hinata smiling and looking up at him.

"Neji's almost back from his patrol, so I'm taking the next unit out. But I just wanted to see you before I left." Naruto smiled as he bent over to kiss her. For the past five years, their relationship had grown, to where Naruto wanted to propose marriage. The Sound War that erupted after the death of Oruchimaru however, kept him occupied with missions. Even after the war's swift end, there was a ongoing power struggle between nations that kept most of Kohona's elite shinobi busy.

_When this Stone business is over, maybe..._

"The Hyuuga's team is back." A nearby shinobi called out. Naruto and Hinata looked westward to see the team come in at a high rate of speed. Something definitely was not right. In his arms, Neji held the limp body of a comrade, while two others trailed behind him.

"This isn't good," Kakashi remarked coming up behind Naruto. Those in the camp watched as Neji hurried in. Once he arrived, he lay down the shinobi he was carrying, who had a face paler than one would think humanly possible.

"Everyone step back," a medical ninja came through the crowd and immediately began examining the man. "There aren't any physical wounds," the medic said after removing the flak jacket. "And he appears to be alive."

"He's alive." Neji said. "During our patrol, we took a small break. He went to go to the bathroom, but it took him forever. Finally, we went out to look for him. We found him lying next to a tree, completely unconscious. After I checked his pulse, we headed back as fast as we could."

The medical ninja listened as he held his hand over the unconscious ninja's body, releasing an aura of green chakra pass from his palm into the body. As his hand passed over the ninja's head, he sat up with a jolt, screaming in horror. His arms flailed wildly in search of something to hold on to.

Neji grabbed him. "Calm down." He yelled, but to no avail. Finally, the medic tapped him with his hand on the back of his neck. The screaming stopped, and the ninja went limp again.

"Take him to the medical tent," the medical ninja ordered. Neji picked up his comrade and followed the medic.

Kakashi turned to Hinata. "Your patrol is not going for the time being. I am going to see things for myself. Naruto, I need you to accompany me."

"Okay." Naruto responded, before turning back to Hinata. "I'll be back later." After giving her a kiss goodbye, he and Kakashi sped off westward.

* * *

In the shadows of the forest, a dark figure crouched over a radio set, switching switches till he acquired the right frequency. "I'm in," he spoke as he rubbed his eyes.

"You're late in reporting." A voice from the radio responded. "What's the hold-up?"

"I ran into a patrol, but my presence hasn't been discovered. I had to use _it_ on a Leaf."

"You fool, are you trying to get caught? This entire mission depends on your performance!"

"It was necessary. Don't talk to me about the mission. I know what I'm doing, and I can assure you, I have not been discovered."

"Don't disappoint me."

The figure snarled before turning off the radio. His tail twitched in agitation.

* * *

The moon lit the surrounding countryside as the encampment settled down for the night. Naruto and Kakashi had just returned from their scouting mission. Kakashi did not find anything. Whoever it was had been extra careful in disguising both his trail and his scent. Leaving Naruto to get some food, he went to the medical tent to get an analysis on the ninja who had been attacked earlier. As he approached the tent, Neji emerged from inside.

"How's the patient?"

"He's resting now, but he should be up soon." Neji responded.

"Tell me about it."

"We weren't able to get much out of him. He said something about a shadow in the woods. A shadow with eyes."

"Eyes?"

"Yes. He called them the 'eyes of death'. He said that when he looked into those eyes, images began to swirl around him. He saw his own body being ripped to shreds. It was as if his worst nightmares were coming alive before his eyes. After that, he doesn't remember anything."

"Genjutsu?"

"Probably. I used my Byakugan after we found him, but there was nobody around. Whatever he saw, it got away in a hurry." Kakashi remained silent after hearing this, contemplating what he should do.

After thinking, the copy ninja spoke. "Tomorrow, take another team on a patrol. I'm going to trail behind you with another team. If you see anything, contact me right away with your radio. Whatever it is, we're going to run it down and find out for ourselves who this is."

"Understood."

* * *

A group of Stone ninjas sat around a fire pit, eating their dinners and talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, one of them stood up in a flash.

"Who is it?" He shouted at an approaching figure. No answer came, but they soon figured who it was. As he came into the light of the fire, they saw his tail. "Kyoufu, you're late again. What's your excuse this time?"

The ninja removed his hood. The fire glowed in his deep-orange, slit-pupiled eyes. He muttered under his breath, then spoke aloud. "The Leafs have stepped up their patrols. I had to be more cautious coming back."

"You wouldn't have been late if you hadn't pulled that stunt earlier. Once the Leafs..."

"Shut up!" Kyoufu's eyes narrowed in on the Stone ninja, like a predator ready for the kill. "I'm warning you, do not undermine my authority here, trash. If you do, you will regret it for sure. Am I understood?" The Stone cowered away, now very afraid.

"Ye...yes, sir."

"Good. Now get me my supper. I'm hungry." The Stone hurried away, then came back with a plate of food. Kyoufu ate quickly, then left the deathly silent circle of Stones. Entering his tent, Kyoufu began removing his gear. The double-edged sword slung around his back he placed with extra care next to his sleeping bag.

"Mind if I come in?"

Kyoufu turned around. "Raikou-sensei."

"Hello, Kyoufu. I trust the Stones are treating you well."

The corner of his mouth smirked. "A band of fools if you ask me."

"That may be true, but it is the only way. Until Tsuchikage says so, we have to continue with the orders." The two sat down as Raikou poured some sake for his pupil.

Kyoufu sighed. "I wish there was some other way, any other way. Tsuchikage is crazy to invade the Leafs at a time like this. Their power is too strong to be taken as easily as the Grass." The pupil looked up at his master. "And, ... it's been getting worse."

"I was promised the medicine would work."

"Only a little. But when I used my Ryuugan on the Leaf shinobi, the pain returned." Kyoufu rubbed a spot over his right lung where the pain had began hours earlier.

"Hmm," Raikou sipped his drink. "Kyoufu, I know you are strong. Far stronger than I ever imagined you would become. But until we find out what's wrong with you, do not use _it_." Kyoufu looked up at him. "It's far too dangerous in your condition."

Kyoufu finished his drink. "Yes, sir."

Master and student continued on in discussion until Raikou left Kyoufu to get some rest. Tomorrow was another mission and the tailed-nin needed to regain his strength. Raikou walked alone towards his own tent when a Stone jounin stopped him.

"_He_ wants to speak to you," the jounin said bluntly before turning towards his right. "This way." Raikou remained silent. _At this time of night? What does he want now? _They walked until they approached a much larger and well guarded tent. Raikou entered and before him, behind a dark curtain, sat Tsuchikage. He looked like a mere shadow from where Raikou stood. Quickly and humbly, he bowed before the kage and sat down.

Tsuchikage spoke first. "I have heard an unpleasant report that your student has been going out of his way recently. I must say that I am displeased with these actions."

"I apologize for Kyoufu's actions earlier. It will not happen again." Raikou bowed again to display his earnestness.

"For his own sake, I hope you are correct. He is one of the strongest shinobi I have under my command, and I have taken great pains to see that our secret weapon remains a secret until the time is right." The kage never even seemed to move an inch while talking. This unnerved Raikou at what his master was really thinking under that wide-brimmed kage hat. "Now, go."

"Yes, my lord." Raikou bowed one last time before exiting out into the night.

Chapter End

* * *

"Reiryuu Kibakudan no Jutsu" - "Sacred Dragon Exploding Bomb Technique" 

"Ryuugan" - "Dragon Eye"


	2. Chapter 2 The Eyes of the Shadow

**Chapter 2 "The Eyes of the Shadow, Race Through the Forest"**

The sun rose over the mountain that bore the carved faces of the Hokages of Kohona. Tsunade woke up from her desk from which she spent the night. The news of the ninja that was attacked on the patrol only complicated matters worse. First, some lizard-tail nin, now some shadow with death-eyes. She wanted to assume the Stones were to blame, but only a fool jumps to conclusions without proof.

The door opened and Hagane Kotetsu, one of her personal bodyguards, entered.

"What is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you, Godaime, but I have the reports you sent for." Kotetsu brought forth a small stack of papers. "Nothing of major importance has occurred. All seven encampments have continued patrols in the major sectors, but there is no sight of any Earth activity. But..."

"But what?"

"There have been strange sightings. ANBU units have reported seeing what they described as glowing eyes on nighttime patrols. Every time they see it and try to investigate, they find nothing."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair to ponder this over. More on these eyes of the darkness. There are some strange types of eyes in this world. The Sharingan of the Uchihas, the Byakugan of the Hyuugas, and a host of other different types of eyes and doujutsus. But there was something different about these. It was not something that she could explain, just something that she felt. Something telling her that this was trouble.

"Thank you. I will look over the reports later." Tsunade stood up. "When will the representatives of the Sand arrive."

"They will arrive in approximately 3 hours, Godaime."

* * *

Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba leaped from tree branch to tree branch in hot pursuit of Akamaru while two ANBU nins followed behind. Akamaru had caught a foreign scent and was racing to catch up with whatever the source was.

"Akamaru, slow down or you're going to get too far ahead." Kiba called out. Suddenly, Akamaru stopped on a tree branch, lifting his nose high into the air.

"I didn't mean stop, Akamaru," Kiba said as their squad stopped next to the white-haired canine.

Akamaru sniffed some more. "I can't smell him anymore." Naruto jumped forward and continued pursuing their invisible foe.

"Naruto! Damn, now what is he up to?" Kiba groaned. The rest of the patrol chased after him until they saw that he had stopped in front of a large river.

"We lost him in the river," Akamaru said.

"Geez, who is this guy?" Kiba muttered. "That's the third time in three days he's gotten away."

"And every time, he's getting braver." One of the ANBU nins announced.

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Every time we track his movements, we discover he's going deeper into Fire Country."

Naruto stared disappointed at the river. _We'll get him next time,...absolutely_.

"Come on, Naruto. We're heading back." Kiba said.

"Yeah."

* * *

Kyoufu grabbed hold of the riverbank. That was almost too close. As much as he hated wet clothes, this proved a necessary act. Breathing heavily, he reached inside his coat to pull out a compass. _Let's see, I should have only gone about a kilometer East, so if I just head south..._ His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar feeling of the air being cut though. A kunai!

Kyoufu leaped to his left, barely avoiding several throwing kunai. "Ryuugan!" Looking up, he saw a trio of masked nins jumping down on him from above. His tail froze stiff, then slapped the ground as he drew his sword.

* * *

Naruto's patrol returned to their encampment. Kiba told General Hatake about the chase, while

Naruto went to his tent to rest. Uchiha Sasuke was inside checking his equipment before his patrol.

"You're late, again."

"Hmph," Naruto snorted as he lay down on his mat.

"Got away again, didn't he?" Naruto didn't answer. Sasuke chuckled at this. "Sounds to me like you're beginning to take this tracking business personally."

"He must be incredibly strong to evade us so easily. I want to see what he is." Naruto answered.

Sasuke sighed to himself. "Don't get all tangled up with this. You have a job to do, and Godaime will get really unhappy if you screw this up."

"Yeah, yeah."

Sasuke reattached his weapon's pouch to his belt as he got up to leave. "See you later, total moron."

Naruto lay on his mat, motionless, just thinking to himself. He knew his friend was right. He was getting too involved in this. Of course, old habits never die easily, especially not for the most energetic ninja in Kohona. He wanted to go out there again. All by himself if he had too. Age however, did lend itself a some wisdom, and he calmed his thoughts a little.

His thoughts were interrupted when Kakashi entered the tent. "Well, Sasuke's patrol just set off. They should be back by nightfall." He looked at the silent Naruto. "Well, well, someone's not in the talkative mood."

Naruto looked at his old sensei. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, I was just thinking."

"Hmmm, I didn't know you could think." Kakashi laughed at his own joke until he saw that his pupil was not laughing as well. "Well, at least this should put your mind at ease. Several of our spies working in Grass country have brought word that Stone nins are withdrawing back into Earth Country."

"What!" Naruto's eyes widened as he shifted to look at his sensei.

"I didn't believe it myself at first, but other sources have confirmed it. Looks like it's going to end better than we thought." This was a confusing revelation for the Uzamaki. On the one hand, it was great news. There would be no war, he could return home, maybe even go forward in proposing to Hinata. But at the same time he was disappointed. The shadow in the woods still preoccupied his mind. Naruto wanted to face him, and his curiosity was still trying to get the best of him.

"Hmm, you don't seem too excited about this." Kakashi observed.

Naruto turned to the Copy Ninja and smiled. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Huh?"

* * *

"I have him in sight now!" Tenten shouted over her radio headset. "The rest of my team is down and needs evacuation. I need reinforcements now!" She reached into her back pouch and pulled out a small summoning scroll. With a flick of her wrist, the scroll unraveled and a large shuriken appeared in a puff of smoke.

"You are not getting away!" Tenten shouted, releasing the weapon in the direction of the fleeing figure. Whoever he was stopped to look around in time to see the spinning projectile closing in on him fast. A gleam of light shown and the shuriken was deflected off to the side. Tenten looked in astonishment as she got closer and saw the drawn long-sword in the nin's hands. She stopped several meters away while he kept his back towards her, standing perfectly still except for the twitching tail.

He turned around slowly and revealed his face. His solid features bore a solemn, yet calm face. She noted there was a slight green and brown discoloring around his lower jawbone and around his eyes.

His eyes!

She looked closer and saw that his pupils in his orange eyes were not round, but slit-lined, like an animals. The only other time she had seen eyes like these was when she saw the power of the Kyuubi in Uzamaki Naruto.

He spoke first. "You're pretty foolish to come at me alone, without your squad." His eyes narrowed on her. "If you do not want to be harmed, turn back now. My mission will soon be complete and you will not inhibit it." The tip of his lizardine tail swayed from side-to-side, betraying his excitement for a battle.

"I'm not letting you get away." With that she grabbed the large scroll that slung over her back and whipped it open. A puff of smoke and a pair of katanas appeared. Closing the scroll and twirling the swords in her hands, she prepared herself in a defensive fighting stance.

The stranger muttered under his breath, grasped his long-sword firmly with both hands, and held it above his head with the blade pointing downward. With this he initiated himself in his own fighting stance. "You will regret this," he spoke.

"Do not underestimate me," Tenten said with a smile. "I am a jounin-level weapons specialist, and I'm not afraid of whatever you are."

"Really?" Kyoufu smirked, then chuckled. His face got serious again. He looked earnestly, examining her body and stance, looking for an opening or possible weakness. _Weapon specialist, huh. This should be fun._

She attacked first. "Leaf Style! Dance of the Crescent Moon," she shouted. Kyoufu saw her create illusional clones, all charging at different angles towards him.

"Ryuugan!" He responded by opening up his eye-lids more. His darkish-orange eyes turned neon-green, much to the shock of his opponent.

"What the..." Before Tenten could get in to make a fatal strike, the tailed nin charged. But he did not strike at any of the clones. He went straight for the real one. _He knows! _Tenten brought her swords in front of her in defense, barely in time to stop his long-sword from striking her. She did not calculate the force of the impact to be so strong, as she flew backwards when metal struck metal. Her clones dissipated into smoke when her body hit the ground.

Without even a second to spare, she rolled to the side to evade a powerful sword stroke smashing into the ground. Tenten was on her feet again in a flash. _Clones are worthless, and he's super fast_. She defended herself from more strikes from the stranger's double-bladed sword. _Not just fast, but strong_. It was all she could do to both keep a solid defense against her adversaries powerful strikes. Even with two swords against one, his skill was immediately apparent. His movements were fluid and continuous in nature. Even after a sword strike, he already knew the next location of attack and continued.

_I'm in trouble,_ Tenten thought to herself. Finally, his attacks let up for just enough time for her to jump back and reach for her scroll. She made the mistake of taking her eyes off of her opponent for a split second. Her scroll in hand, Tenten looked back, but found her opponent no where in sight. She stood amazed until a powerful kick to the side of her head sent her body flailing uncontrollably on the ground.

She lay there on the ground dazed. Blood slowly streamed down her hairline where the kick impacted. Quiet ensued the forest; the wind breezing softly and rays of sunlight drifting through the branches and leaves to the forest floor. Tenten looked at the sunlight, and the encroaching shadow that appeared in it. He was coming towards her. Tenten gasped and reached for a katana that lay next to her.

Too late. His leather boot stepped on the blade, leaving Tenten defenseless. He reached down and grabbed her by the shirt, lifting the weapon specialist up and slamming her body against a nearby tree trunk. Tenten gasped madly for air. Still holding her, Kyoufu brought his face closer until they were mere centimeters away. She could see them clearly now, those eyes. They looked at her with a primal stare, as if he wanted to devour her where she stood.

"Jounin-level weapon specialist." Kyoufu bared his fangs. "You aren't even worth the effort to kill. Summoning weapons like they were toys to play with. No respect at all." His hands now were at her throat. She was tried her best to control her own body in this situation. She didn't fear death. No one who ever reaches jounin level ever fears an eventual end. Sacrifice for the village was part of the shinobi life. Her training in this kept her shaking to a minimum and her breathing under control.

He spoke again, the hand around Tenten's throat becoming tighter. "I will not kill you here. I have no interest in meaningless deaths. However, you will not be able to tell of what occurred here until what needs to happen happens." His eyes looked directly into hers. Tenten did not want to look back, but he was forcing her through some unseen power. It was a battle of wills she had no strength to win. Her world became darker as her mind grew heavy and weary in his genjutsu.

"You will sleep for three days and three nights without stop. By then, my mission will be complete." With that, Tenten's limbs went limp as she fell into a deep sleep.

Kyoufu looked at the Leaf nin lying on the ground. His face no longer showed anger, but pity. It was as if he completely changed his personality. He knew he had gone too far, and he regretted his actions. _I'm sorry mother, but I'm almost done with everything. Then Tsuchikage will approve my request and my dream._ _I will be home soon. Only one more needs to die. _Kyoufu closed his eyes.

_Godaime of the Leafs._

Chapter End


End file.
